A student loan repayment program for lawyers who agree to represent indigent defendants or practice in rural Iowa is included in one of the budget bills that has cleared the Iowa Legislature.
Each year, up to 25 licensed attorneys with Iowa roots who recently graduated from law school would be eligible for the tax-free support. The program would provide six annual payments of $10,000 to help pay off student loans.
The program would be funded through a $20 increase in court filing fees.
Recent Iowa State University research identified 18 counties as “legal deserts” because there are not enough attorneys to represent private clients.
